Review of The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) by Hugo S — 12 Mar 2008

THE MAN WHO WASNT THERE (2001).

Directed by Joel Coen.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini«Me, I don't talk much... I just cut the hair »Billy Bob Thornton is Ed Crane, a barber. He doesnt talk much, but he is a good narrator. To be able to invest in some dry-cleaning company he blackmails Big Dave, played by James Gandolfini. Dave doesnt Ed is the one asking for all that money. Dave is having an affair with Ed's wife, played by Frances McDormand. One night, Dave asks Ed to come over to discuss how to figure out who the guy is, when he actually discovered the truth. Ed kills him and his wife ends up being accused of the murder.Outside the basic premise, a lot of things go on in The Man Who Wasnt There, including many colorful characters. A lawyer played by Tony Shalhoub, a young teenage pianist played by Scarlett Johansson and Big Dave's wife, who believes aliens killed her husband. They all give very quirky but strong performance, as it is needed for a Coen brothers film. Thornton is perfect, he doesnt need to speak much to create this character. Gandolfini is interesting, a good performance. McDormand, who is used to the Coens, of course she married one, is as always very good, kinda playing a similar character to the one she played in Raising Arizona.The Man Who Wasnt There is set in the late 40's and is actually paying tribute to film noir of that era. It makes a lot of references to the genre and to themselves, of course.The film was shot in color but printed in black and white. Roger Deakins's cinematography is amazingly gorgeous. It looks as if the every single shot, is precisely framed. Its simply great to look at.With good dialogues and slow pacing, The Man Who Wasnt There isnt the best of the Coens, but its a pretty good one. It might be a little ten minutes too long but the atmosphere, the use of Beethoeven's music, the references to Albert Camus's The Stranger and the narration by Billy Bob Thornton makes it a very enjoyale movie.